Fabric cutter



June 24, 1952 v. MITTELsTAr-:DT 2,601,414

FABRrc CUTTER Filed Aug. l2, 1949 JNVENTOR. VIC-VOD. M ITTELSTAEUI Patented June 24, 1952 U NIT ED STAT ES PAT E NT OFF F ICE FABRIC CUTTER` Victor Mittelstaedt, Poughkeepsie, N.'Y.

Application August 12, 1949,` Serial N. 109,989

(Cl. Sil-294) 1 claim. 1

This invention relates to fabric cutters, and more particularly to a fabric cutter in the form of a hand tool for cutting sheets of fabric, such as canvas, after such sheets have been cemented to a surface, such as a wall or deck, to trim the edges of said sheets for abutting contiguous edges of adjacent sheets.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide an improved fabric cutter in the form of a hand tool using a safety razor blade of known construction for its cutting blade, which tool provides a mounting for the blade such that the blade can be placed in various positions of angular adjustment to the blade-carrying portion of the tool to set the blade at the best positions for various operating conditions, which provides an elongated, tapered nger engageable with the surface on which the fabric is mounted for accurately guiding the tool, and which is strong and durable in construction, economical to manufacture, neat and attractive in appearance, and easy to use.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claim in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a side elevation of a fabric cutting tool illustrative of the invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the tool illustrated in Figure l Figure 3 is a partial cross-sectional View on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view on the line 5--5 of Figure 3.

With continued reference to the drawing, the tool comprises a frame I to which is connected a handle II and in which is mounted a cutting blade I2 held in position in the frame by a set screw I3.

The frame I0 is a U-shaped structure preferably formed of an elongated rod of circular crosssection and of some suitable material, such as brass or iron. This frame has two spaced-apart, substantially parallel legs I4 and I5 joined at corresponding ends by an arcuately-curved bight I6. The leg I is flat on its sufrace opposite the leg I4 and on its surface adjacent the leg I4, is tapered in a direction toward its outer end and provided with a longitudinally-extending groove I'I and a plurality of indicating marks I8 spaced apart along the groove.

The leg I4 is provided in the portion thereof opposite the end of the groove I'I nearest the bight 2 I6 of the frame with a through slot I9 which extends obliquely of the leg and opens to the side of leg I4 adjacent leg I5. Leg I4 also has a screw threaded aperture 20 opening into the groove I9.

The blade I2 is a safety razor blade of known construction and is inserted through the slot I9 and rests at one end in the groove I1, and the set screw or thumb screw I3 is threaded through the aperture 20 to bear against the blade I2 and hold the blade in adjusted position relative to the frame legs I4 and I5. The blade may be adjusted to different positions of angularity relative to the frame legs by loosening the screw I3 and shifting said one end of the blade along the groove I1 until the desired angular position is obtained and then tightening the screw. The indicating marks I8 show various angular positions of the blade relative to the frame legs.

The leg I4 is bent near its outer end in a direction away from its outer end of the leg I5 and is provided at its outer end with a tang 2l of reduced size which is received in a well provided in the adjacent end of the handle I I. The handle I l is an elongated body of suitable material, such as wood, or synthetic resin plastic, of circular cross-section and preferably slightly tapered from its outer end toward its end connected to the leg I4. The end of the handle connected to the leg is provided with a reduced extension 22 and this extension is surrounded by a reinforcing, metallic ferrule 23 to provide a rigid connection between the handle and the frame of the tool.

The invention may be embodied in other speciilc forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claim rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come Within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claim are, therefore, intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

A knife for cutting sheet material comprising a U-shaped frame including a pair of spaced apart and substantially parallel legs and a curved bight portion joining said legs at one end of said frame, one of the said legs tapering in thickness from a location intermediate its length to the distal end thereof and having in the tapered portion thereof a longitudinally extending groove opening to the side of said one leg handle-receiving portion of said other leg, an 10 elongated blade extending through the slot in said other leg and having one end received in the groove in said one leg, said blade being inclined relative to said legs in a direction away from said one leg and toward the bight portion of said frame and having a cutting edge on its edge remote from said bight portion, and means carried by said other leg and engaging said blade 4 holding the latter in selected positions of inclination relative to said legs.

VICTOR MITTELSTAEDT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 131,152 Jacobs Jan. 20, 1942 737,317 Kinney Apr. 12, 1904 2,167,212 Johnson July 25, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 21,320 Great Britain Sept. 22, 1913 

